The hope for secularism

By Hugh Harris

So often we hear about the dizzying pace of change in modern society. And yet, despite plummeting levels of religiosity, progress towards a truly secular society proceeds in fits and starts, and remains agonisingly slow. If we are dizzy, it’s from going round in circles.

My colleagues at the Rationalist Society of Australia may disagree with me, pointing to admirable progress in access to terminations, voluntary assisted dying, and same-sex marriage. But, even after modest gains, we witness a clamoring to wind back these changes and to add exceptions for religious freedom. And these gains seem paltry compared to the drop off in churchgoing and the rise of the nones, according to the Census. 

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